


Wherever You Will Go

by princessofdisaster



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-03-30 16:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13955166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessofdisaster/pseuds/princessofdisaster
Summary: Growing up as a vessel of Darkness, Akii wants nothing more than to overcome it completely. However the path to light isn't as easy to find as one would assume, especially with Maleficent and her uncle standing in the way of her freedom.





	1. Chapter 1

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x  
 **Wherever You Will Go**  
 _Prologue_

“Queen Anni the vessels you requested are ready for departure.” A rather frazzled looking red-haired maid rushed in to the private quarters of the young Queen. Blinking back tears, Queen Anni smiled gratefully, “Thank you Sophie, you have been a great help to me and my family throughout the years…I’m…I’m going to miss you dearly, my friend.” 

Taken aback by the sudden confession, Sophie rushed forward and threw her arms around the young woman with long luscious locks of wavy blonde hair. Under normal circumstances such informal contact with royalty would have been punished, but at the current moment neither woman cared. The inevitability of the fact that this was quite possibly the last time the two unlikely friends would ever see each other weighed heavily on their hearts. 

“Are you sure there’s no other way? You and King Oliver can hide out on another world, can’t you?” The red-haired woman, who was roughly the same age as the young Queen pleaded through watery eyes. The two women had grown up together, Sophie only being two years older than Anni, making her 24 while the Queen was 22. 

Anni bit her lip, her lavender eyes softening sadly on her best friend, “Darius would find us no matter where we fled to, no, me and Oliver are going to face him head on and whatever happens to us happens.” 

The door to Anni’s room opened quickly and a young man slipped in, barely a year older than the Queen herself. A deep-set frown pulling at the corners of his lips as he ran a hand through his shaggy raven hair, glancing up at the two women with worried lavender eyes. 

“Anni, we need to hurry, Darius and his men were spotted coming up on the south gates.” 

Sophie choked back her sobs, “My lieges, my friends, please reconsider—this is a suicide mission!” 

Oliver shifted his lavender gaze to the red-head, “That may be, however our lives do not matter anymore, it’s our daughters who must be protected and I’m willing to die to ensure the safety of Lisette and Akii.” 

Gunshots were heard outside the window, Darius and his followers had successfully made it past the gates and were now on the grounds. Anni and Oliver exchanged panic-stricken looks, both rushing towards the corner of the room where the two cradles were located. The King gently picked up the younger of the two children, hugging her to his chest and motioning for Anni to take their other daughter. 

Oliver glanced down at the 1 year old baby girl sleeping peacefully in his arms, tufts of silver hair peeked out from underneath the amethyst colored blanket that she was swaddled in. His eyes saddened at the realization that this was quite possibly the last time he and Anni would ever see their little girls ever again, tears pricked at the corners of his lavender eyes but he refused to shed them. He needed to be strong for his wife. 

“Ollie, I got Lisette, let’s get them both down to the ships.” Anni’s voice cracked. She was cuddling their 2 year old daughter to her chest protectively, the tiny girl was wide awake and watching her mother with curious soft lavender eyes. Lisette was too young to understand what was happening, giggling childishly and playing with the necklace around her mother’s neck. 

The King and Queen of Sanctions Keep stealthily ran out to the gummi hanger where two separate ships were already prepared for them. The smoke from the fires raging outside the castle walls was already beginning to seep in to the building, Anni choked, her eyes watering. 

“Everything seems to be in order, my love. The ships are set to auto-pilot and you and I are the only ones who know where Akii and Lisette are going so their location will be safe guarded. Darius won’t get his filthy hands on our children.” His eyes narrowed at the mention of the man who was currently trying to overthrow him and become king of Sanctions Keep. 

With the way things were going…Darius was going to succeed. 

While Oliver and Anni ruled with kindness and were all around adored by the citizens of Sanctions Keep, Darius had over the years acquired quite the army of loyal followers who all shared his greed for power. Things weren’t looking too good for the current King and Queen, which was why they were hiding their children—their heirs—on other worlds. 

Anni felt the sting of hot tears in her eyes as she unclasped the silver chain hanging around her neck, a small silver skeleton-key dangling from it, and securing it around Lisette’s tiny neck. “One day you will understand, everything will make sense and you’ll find your way back to this world and take back what is rightfully yours. Be safe my daughters.” She directed the last part to both children before safely buckling up Lisette in the tiny one-person ship, closing the door and setting it for departure. 

Oliver kissed the top of Akii’s head before following his wife’s lead and safely securing the younger girl in the second one-person ship, watching as both tiny vessels took off in to the sky—amidst the chaos raging outside. 

The door to the gummi hangar burst open forcefully and in stepped a man who was similar in appearance to King Oliver, only his eyes were pure black—black with the darkness of his heart. He smirked sinisterly, motioning for his guards to seize the two rulers. 

“Brother! How could you?!” Oliver growled as his arms were restrained. 

Anni was beside him in a similar fashion, her eyes narrowed in disgust at the man that had just entered the room, she made to reach out to her husband but was shoved forcefully away from him by one of the armed men. 

“Anni! Get your filthy hands off of her!” The lavender eyed man snarled, struggling against his captors. 

“Oh, dear brother, you were always father’s favorite, now it’s time to show the world who truly deserves to rule the kingdom,” Darius’ eyes were alight with malice, “and it’s not you.” 

His intentions were made very clear—Anni and Oliver wouldn’t make it to see another day, they had known from the very start that this would happen. The only thought running through their heads was that their little girls were safe; the true heirs to Sanctions Keep were still out there and away from this chaos. One day they’d come and reclaim what was rightfully theirs.


	2. Of False Accusations and Jealousy

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x  
**Wherever You Will Go**  
_Of False Accusations and Jealousy_

Akii folded her arms neatly across her chest, jogging to try and keep up with Riku’s long purposeful strides through the Corridors of Darkness. The two of them, much to Riku’s annoyance and her displeasure, had been paired together by Maleficent to do her dirty bidding which was why the lavender eyed princess was currently in the company of Captain Asshole. 

_“No offense, but what the hell were you thinking?!” Akii had screamed at her uncle, provoking a rather dark and sinister smirk to twist its way on to his pale lips._

_“Maleficent has strengthened my powers and increased them by tenfold, I would have been a fool not to accept.”_

_“That’s what this was about? Your greed for power?” She spat, running a hand through her hair to try and calm herself down._

_He scoffed, “You don’t seem to understand child, the increase of my power also means an increase in your power, you’ll be much stronger and will be able to protect your people even better than you are now.”_

_His famous last lines._

__

__

_Darius knew exactly what to say to manipulate her in to trusting him and his plans, she just wanted what was good for her kingdom. It didn’t matter if her people feared her, she was doing all of this for them…Akii just wanted to make a difference in someone’s life, wanted to be important to someone._

Riku stopped abruptly, causing her to stumble over her footing and nearly run in to him. His turquoise eyes narrowed at her in annoyance, opening a portal and stepping through it, not even waiting for her to follow him. Akii groaned, he was such a jackass! Quickly scurrying out she cringed as bright fluorescent lights bared down on her unexpectedly. A dull throb panged behind her lavender eyes, but it was nothing too serious since the lighting was artificial and therefore not as potent as actual sunlight. 

“You coming or what?”Riku growled over his shoulder. 

She noticed that he had already gotten a head start, standing several yards away from her with an angry scowl marring his handsome (wait, what? No no no!) face. They were standing in the middle of a long tiled hallway, she moved quickly to join him, taking long strides to make it to the end of the hallway where he was waiting for her. At the end of the hallway was a door which Riku pushed open hurriedly, stepping in to a rather bizarre looking room. 

In the center of the room was a table with a set of chairs on either side and on top of the wooden surface was a bottle with questionable contents inside. On the far side of the room was an insanely tiny door, much smaller than anything the two of them could ever dream of fitting through. On the left side, closest to where she stood, were a few striped chairs and a tall grandfather clock and opposite to that was a tall red bricked fireplace. 

“What is this place?” She stared at her surroundings with a cocked eyebrow as Riku sauntered over to the table in the center of the room and took the bottle on it in his hand. 

Akii cautiously walked forward to stand next to him as he took a big gulp from the glass bottle, she noticed a note tied to it that had the words Drink Me scrawled in loopy calligraphy. He promptly handed the bottle to her, her eyes lingering on him a moment before shrugging her shoulders more to herself than anyone else, placing the lip of the bottle to her lips and taking a long swig from it. 

Sputtering seconds later from the horrid after taste of the liquid, scrunching up her nose in disgust, Akii was about to turn around and tell off the silverette for poisoning her when she began to feel….awfully strange. It started as a warm tingling sensation in her toes that spread up through her legs, stomach, arms, and finally her head. The warm tingles melted away in to an unpleasant feeling of her insides being squeezed and she was sure that if it lasted any longer that she’d pop. Luckily, as soon as the pain came it ended as well and she was staring up at the table---wait, rewind. UP?! 

“What the hell just happened?” She demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Riku who was examining himself as if to check that everything was still there. 

He glanced over his shoulder at her, “You’ve just shrunk, it was necessary so that we could go through that door over there.” 

Riku turned back around and stalked off towards the not-so-small-anymore door, grabbing on to the snoring doorknob and giving it a harsh turn. The brass knob coughed itself awake and wiggled in Riku’s grasp, giving him a disapproving glare. 

“Excuse me, I was sleeping.” 

“I don’t care, we need to get inside, so open up.” He growled back to the talking doorknob. 

“My, how rude!” 

Akii rolled her eyes at the turquoise eyed boy’s method of procedure; he obviously had no manners or people skills whatsoever and needed to be taught a lesson. She pushed passed him and bent down so that she was eye level with the doorknob, plastering on a cheerful smile. 

“I’m sorry about my friend here, he was raised by wolves and doesn’t know how to interact in public.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the glowering Riku, “if it wouldn’t be so much to ask, do you think we could get to the other side? We’re looking for our friend and believe that he could be lost over on the other side…” 

The door knob frowned, “Well why didn’t you say so?” 

Riku glared at the both of them angrily as the door swung open to reveal a darkened forest. 

“Hope you find your friend, now if you don’t mind I’m going to be getting back to my nap now, good day.” The doorknob waited until the two of them had stalked off in to the forest before closing the door and quickly falling back in to a peaceful slumber. 

Despite the fact that it was hardly past noon and the sun was high in the sky, the overgrown canopy of the forest shielded the light from the forest floor, something Akii was genuinely grateful for. She glanced around their surroundings, noticing the gnarly knotted tree trunks lining the dirt path that she and Riku were on. There really wasn’t too much to look at, the foliage on either side of the path was thick and hard to see through, with the exception of the random gap in the line of trunks that yielded to nothing but darkness on the other side. 

“What exactly are we here for?” Akii crossed her arms over her chest, lavender eyes trained on the backside of Riku as he purposely strode forwards so that he was several paces in front of her. 

“Maleficent wanted us to…tempt the Queen of Hearts with darkness before Sora shows up.” The toxicity seeping off of Riku was nearly palpable as his jealously for the keyblade master grew; just the thought of his former friend was enough to send him on edge. 

Akii skirted around the random splotches of sunlight that was able to fight through the canopy and splatter down on the dirt path like spilt paint on a fresh canvas, pressing herself further and further in to the shadows. Riku narrowed his eyes curiously at her, but didn’t say anything, continuing down the path until he came to an opening where he could see what looked to be a court case in session. 

He swiftly jumped up on to the perfectly manicured lush green hedge to get a closer look, stopping short when he realized that Akii wasn’t with him. Turning around he rolled his eyes, “You coming or not?” 

She shied away from the opening in the forest and retreated several steps backwards, a pained frown tugging at the corners of her lips. 

“I can’t.” 

Annoyed, he humored her, “And why not?” 

Akii clutched a hand to her chest in pain as the bright rays of light found her hiding spot and she had to jump back to the darkened forest shadows, “The light…I can’t go in the light.” 

A look of understanding washed over Riku like that of the incoming tide creeping over freshly made footprints in the sand, he turned around and put a finger to his chin in concentration. His turquoise eyes landing on the giant leaf pedestals protruding out of the thick tree trunks, acting like a form of stairs. Her eyes caught his and then followed his line of sight, grinning in understanding. 

She climbed atop the lowest of the leaf pedestals, jumping onto the next one in the series of green stepping stairs until she was relatively close to where Riku was standing. Akii was right on the edge of where the shadows met the light, pressing herself up against the trunk of a tree and biting her lip. She could hear what was happening below from her position, but couldn’t quite get a good enough look without actually stepping in to the sunlight. 

Riku got closer to the scene and clenched his fists when he spotted Sora and his new friends standing to the rear of the procession. His eyes momentarily left his former best friend and wandered over to the red and black throne a few yards away where a plump woman with black hair and beady eyes sat. She wore mostly red with a small crown atop her enormous head, her beady little eyes staring down at a young blonde haired girl who looked absolutely bewildered, as if she had no idea why she was even there in the first place. 

“This girl is the culprit, there’s no doubt about it!” The bulbously round woman accused, pointing a sausage-like finger at the young British girl,” and the reason is? …because I say so that’s why!” 

“That is so unfair!” The young girl cried out in defense. 

The Queen of Hearts eyed the blonde doubtfully, “Well have you anything to say in your defense?” 

“Of course! I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. You may be Queen, but I’m afraid that doesn’t give you the right to be so…so mean!” 

“Silence!” The Queen of Hearts face turned beat red, “You dare defy me?!” 

Riku’s eyes swept over the scene once again, noticing Sora debating something with his two companions, seemingly deciding whether or not they should step in and save the poor girl. Akii wasn’t quite sure what was going on, she couldn’t see from where she was and it was bugging the hell out of her. She was curious but if she were the move forward she’d be caught in the sunlight. 

“Damnit, what’s going on?” She groaned, standing on the tips of her toes to try and get a better view of the scene below. Riku held up a hand, silently telling her to be quiet. 

“The court finds the defendant…” The Queen paused for dramatic effect before slamming her hands down on the wooden banister in front of her, ”GUILTY AS CHARGED! For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart…OFF WITH HER HEAD!” 

Riku sneered, “Just watch, goody little Sora’s probably going to step in and offer to help and in the end he’ll save the day like the good little hero he is.” She noted the animosity in his voice as he mocked the brunette below, her curiosity peaked. Who was this Sora kid? And why did Riku hate him so much? The lavender eyed princess figured that those questions should be saved for another time though she doubted that he’d ever reveal much about his past to her. 

“Curious about what’s going on below, are you?” 

Akii whirled around…but no one was there. 

Confused and on full alert she turned back around, only to stumble back a few paces as her face came inches away from colliding with the pink and purple striped face of a yellow eyed feline. Its grin was borderline mad as it stared her down with amused slitted pupils. 

“Why don’t you get a closer look, it’s just starting to get interesting, don’t you think?” He disappeared and re-appeared sitting on her shoulder. 

“I can’t go any further or the light’ll kill me.” She narrowed her eyes, shaking him off of her, “Who…what are you?” 

The feline vanished once again, only his large toothy grin left behind before disappearing aswell, “Why, the Cheshire Cat, of course. It looks like my assistance is needed elsewhere.” 

Riku growled, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles were turning white and trembling. His eyes followed Sora as he ran off in to the forest, the very forest that he and Akii were currently watching from, after promising the Queen that he’d find proof that would clear Alice’s name. Sora was so infuriating! Riku needed to teach the brunet pipsqueak a thing or two about strength…and now that he had the powers of darkness on his side.. 

It was the perfect opportunity. 

Completely forgetting that the silver-white haired girl was even there with him, Riku leapt from his perch on the hedge and started stalking after the keyblade master, his own blade, the Soul Eater, in hand. 

“Wh—Riku? What the hell are you doing?” She hissed but he was already out of earshot. 

Groaning, she darted after him, her legs pumping as hard as they could to help her reach Riku in the shortest amount of time possible to prevent him from blowing their cover to the keyblade master and his lackeys. Her chest burned, her heart beating erratically against her ribcage, begging her to slow down. 

Riku now stood several feet above Sora and his friends as they spoke with the same strange feline that had introduced himself to Akii. The silverette clutched his blade tightly, his knuckles going white with jealousy and anger. He was about to leap down to the brunette’s level when he felt a rough tug back and before he knew it he was surrounded by the swirling of darkness. 

Akii stood before him, out of breath and staring up at him through narrowed eyes. 

Riku didn’t lower his demon-wing shaped blade, poising it out in front of him while eyeing her menacingly, “What is your problem?!” 

The rage filling his voice sent an involuntary shiver up her spine, quickly shaking her head she summoned her weapon to her right hand; a long ebony hued shaft with a dangerously sharpened curved silver blade at the end. Akii twirled the scythe around her fingers expertly, as if it were as light as a feather. Instincts kicked in and the twirling stopped as she crouched in to an offensive mode. 

He laughed derisively, “You sure you want to do that?” 

She scoffed, “I wouldn’t have summoned my weapon if I wasn’t serious.” 

Riku’s eyes narrowed in to tiny slits as he darted forward, swinging his arm around in a full circle and bringing down his blade with the intention of striking her upper body. Akii may not have had the muscles that the silver-haired boy possessed but she did have a lithe body built for speed and had an advantage over the darkness that he did not; she had grown up with it, and could harness the darkness within her while he was still learning. 

Akii ducked under the wide swing of his demonic-like blade and whirled around to face his exposed backside, whipping her scythe at him so quickly that the air thick with darkness whistled over the surface of the silver curved blade. The swirling darkness around her heightened her senses, feeding her own darkness and strengthening it. 

He let out a grunt, feeling the material of his yellow vest tear and slowly become soaked with the warm liquid seeping from the wound, staining the brightly colored clothing a muddy-crimson. Frustrated, Riku spun around and lashed out at her with his weapon, hitting her with a barrage of attacks. 

She stumbled back, using the shaft of her scythe as defense against his weapon, struggling to parry against his well-placed attacks. While Akii had the advantage over speed Riku surely beat her out in the strength department, his muscles were well-toned from years of rough housing on the beach with his friends and if she wasn’t careful that could be used against her to help him win this fight. 

Side-stepping out of the way Akii dodged out of the way of another attack, closing her eyes she concentrated on the darkness pooled inside of her, guiding it with her mind until it was a physical material floating an inch above her outstretched palm. Turquoise eyes widened in surprise at this new found ability that he hadn’t been aware of. Akii’s eyes burned with an intensity that he had never seen before, granted he’d only known her for a day or two, but the ferocious stare she was sending his way was enough to make any man cower. Well, any man aside from Riku, he wasn’t particularly scared of her, she was a scrawny little girl and he was a well-toned boy. He could certainly take her on…right? 

Akii thrust her palm forward and released the dark energy that was slowly building itself up into a good sized sphere of wispy darkness. The dark tendrils shot forward, wrapping themselves around Riku’s legs and tightening themselves until his ankles were pressed up against each other. With a surprised yelp Riku fell forward, unceremoniously hitting the dark ground with a grunt of pain. 

Unable to move his legs at all Riku threw Soul Eater at her as a desperate last resort. The lavender eyed princess chuckled darkly, side stepping the weapon flung at her with such speed that her movement appeared blurred and hazy to Riku. She appeared by his side in an instant and smirked, crouching low so that she was eye-level with him. 

“You may be stronger Riku, but I’m faster and have more control over the darkness than you do.” Her voice came out hard, laced with venom, sounding foreign even to her. Riku blinked as his bindings released him, watching her cautiously as he picked himself up off the ground, glaring heatedly at her the entire time, as if daring her to make another move towards him. 

Akii shook her head, had that really been her voice? Her voice? It had sounded so distant, so foreign, so..dark! That wasn’t who she wanted to be. Her eyes quickly found Riku’s turquoise daggers she fought the urge to shrink away from the intense glare he was sending her way. He let out a frustrated huff and disappeared through a portal of darkness that she had previously opened, angry that he had been bested by a _girl_.


	3. Chapter 3

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x  
**Wherever You Will Go**  
_Of Dusty Drawers and New Allies_

The fight with Riku hadn’t weighed very heavily on Akii’s mind over the past week that he had been absent from her life. At least, not the part that should have bothered her: the fight itself. No, what had been plaguing the silverette’s mind was the drastic change in her demeanor during said fight. Her voice had sounded so caustic when she had spoken to him and during the fight itself she had felt so…powerful. 

Akii certainly didn’t want to believe that she was truly that dark on the inside, no matter how many years she had been exposed to the darkness. She hadn’t seen Riku in a week and a half since that particular fight and things almost seemed back to normal, or at least as normal as they had been before she had met Maleficent and Riku. Darius was still sending her on missions to other worlds to flood them with heartless and aid in their destruction and she was still feeling high with power from the frequent use of her powers. 

What was different from the norm was the occasional appearance of Maleficent who would appear dramatically in a flourish of wispy green flames and storm into Darius’ audience chamber to, no doubtedly, give him orders on what worlds she’d like for him (and by him, she really meant Akii) to destroy. If she was such an all-powerful witch then why couldn’t she do all the world destroying herself? 

During one of those regular visits from Maleficent Akii found herself sitting lazily on the plush seat of one of the castle’s bay windows, her left leg pulled up to her chest while her right one dangled off the side. Her lavender eyes trailing after the tiny dots outside that were the people of her kingdom, happily milling about with their lives. The tinted glass making the world outside seem darker than it really was, it must have been nearly 3 in the afternoon and the sun was high in the pale sky, mocking her. What she wouldn’t give to be able to leave the castle and go out to experience the day, letting the warmth of the sun ghost over her with its bright rays. It wasn’t fair. 

The door to the audience chamber opened and out stepped her uncle, he smirked maliciously at her as he strode forward in a way that he thought was intimidating. His dark charcoal eyes never once leaving her tiny frame and she got the distinct feeling that he knew something that she didn’t know, something big. A moment later Maleficent followed after him, a triumphant smirk twisting its way onto her dark colored lips. 

“Maleficent and I have spoken and feel as if it is in our best interests that you accompany her to her castle in Hollow Bastion and stay with her and her apprentice there for the time being. It would be more efficient for you to directly receive your assignments from her than to have her make the journey here every other day to inform me what it is that you are supposed to do.” Darius’ lips formed a tight-lipped smile, like he was torn between losing his greatest asset and letting her go for the time being to further his and Maleficent’s sinister plans. 

The silverette kept her poker face in check on the outside, but inside she was angered by this decision. Darius wasn’t much fun to live with but she’d much prefer him over the green-skinned witch Maleficent. 

_I bet she’s got a crocodile filled mote around her place and a drawbridge that only lowers from the inside._ Akii mused darkly, And all her prisoners are kept chained in the dark dungeon. 

“Alright, when do we leave?” She spoke quietly, her gaze locked with the witch’s dark beady eyes. 

“Immediately.”, Maleficent smirked, “Follow me, dear.” 

A swirling portal appeared before them with a flick of her wrist, a medley of purples and blacks melting together in a wispy vortex of darkness. She crossed her arms over her chest, giving her uncle one last fleeting glance before stepping in to the Corridor of Darkness, following after the evil witch. 

The journey through the darkness was insanely awkward; the only sound to be heard was the shifting of dark tendrils around them. Not that Akii was expecting Maleficent to chat her up. They stepped out of a portal and in to a dimly lit dilapidated castle, Akii grimaced, it certainly was nothing like her kingdom in Sanctions Keep, that was for sure. 

Maleficent stopped walking abruptly, causing Akii to catch herself so that she wouldn’t run in to the witch, “This will be your room while you are with us, I hope it is to your liking. I have no need for you today so rest up and I’ll send for you when I do need you.” 

The lavender eyed girl nodded mutely in understanding before slowly opening the old ornate door, it creaked to life with years of disuse. Wincing slightly from the sound she entered the room and sneezed, a cloud of dust billowing around her from the disturbance. 

“This certainly is charming. When was the last time someone even came in here?” She ran her finger along the surface of the old wooden dresser, leaving a trail in the inch thick layer of dust. 

Disgust for the filthy room clearly evident in her expression, Akii scrunched up her nose and tapped her index finger to her chin in concentration. She’d definitely have to clean up the place before she even considered living there. 

Akii closed the door behind her and set to work with an old rag that she found hanging off of her bedpost, her first order of business was to get rid of the thick layer of dust that covered the entire room. The dusting alone took forever and by the time she was finished it was well after dark but she was proud to say that the stuffy atmosphere of her room was long gone and she could breathe easily now. 

“I’ll finish with the rest of the room another time but at least I got rid of that nasty dust.” She mused, tossing the dirty rag to the side and taking a seat on the stiff, uncomfortable mattress that was her bed. 

She lay back on her bed, folding her arms comfortably behind her neck in a makeshift sort of pillow as she figured it would be much more comfortable than the actual pillow on her bed. Letting her eyelids close she drifted off into a restless sleep. 

_There was nothing but darkness for as far as she could see. It engulfed everything in its way, the kingdom, the people, and her home. Nothing was safe from its destructive path._

_Flames of darkness rose from the ground, licking at the sides of the castle and rising in power until they reached her window up on the 5th floor. Akii jumped back in surprised horror, who would have done this to her home? She and Darius had done so much to protect Sanctions Keep from the power of darkness, had it all been for nothing?_

_The scene changed and she was standing atop Serenity Hill, a large grassy hillside covered in lavender and daisies to the south of the town that overlooked the kingdom. A surge of power coursed through her very being and suddenly she felt the corners of her lips twist upwards. She felt oddly…proud._

_Her hands began to shake and she glanced down in confusion. Her eyes widened. Where her hands should have been were dark black claws, like that of a Heartless, and tiny wisps of darkness were pouring from the tips._

_She turned around suddenly and gasped, behind her was a mirror but what she saw in it was not her, instead, the reflection that it showed to her was that of a giant Shadow heartless. Akii lifted up her hand to touch the glass only to have it shatter from her touch._

Akii woke with a start, her hair matted to her face with sweat. 

“I...I guess sleep is out of the question…” She mumbled to herself, panting to try and catch her breath from such a horrible nightmare. 

Swinging her legs around so that they were now on the floor Akii pulled herself to her feet and quietly ambled towards the window that overlooked what appeared to be some sort of rocky gorge. She leaned out the window a little ways and calculated a safe route to the ground from where she currently was. Using the door would take too much time, she just wanted to get out of her stuffy room and fast, she wanted to be anywhere but there. 

Her eyes locked on the rocky mountainside below her window, it was as if the castle of ruins was built right in to the side of the mountain, she could use that to her advantage. She perched herself atop the window sill, the drop was too far down for her to just jump so instead she slid off of the window sill, feeling her feet hit a solid ledge beneath her window. Once she was safely out of the castle she used the tiny rifts in the mountainside to aide her in climbing down to the bottom until she was safely in the gorge below. 

Akii wasn’t quite sure where she was going, she didn’t know this world at all, but she was sure that wherever she was headed would be better than being stuck in that dusty old castle. 

She wandered down the gravel pathway for close to 15 minutes before she started to see a change in the scenery around her in the form of small patches of grass sticking out of the ground here and there. It was a nice change from the monotony of grey gravel and rock that she had been seeing nothing but ever since she arrived on this world. 

Akii continued her trek until she came across a tiny field tucked away from the gorge and the castle, dark green grass growing in large clusters around a small koi pond. She felt her lips twitch at the beautiful sight before her, wandering over to the sandy bank of the pond and taking a seat, staring in to the shallow water, becoming mesmerized by the colorful fish swimming close to the surface. It was a peaceful setting, very ideal for just sitting and thinking about things. 

And boy did she have a lot to think about. 

That nightmare that she had had was something that often plagued her restless mind; Akii rarely ever was able to sleep through the night without waking up in a cold sweat. The nightmares were different but always had the same underlying theme of her being completely taken by the darkness and destroying her kingdom. It was her worst fear. It made her feel pathetic for even accepting the darkness in to her life all those years ago, when she was a young and naïve 8 year old. 

“I was so foolish.” The lavender eyed girl spat, swiping at her reflection on the pond’s glassy surface only to have it waver back in to place, mocking her. I still am. 

She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees tightly, a small frown pulling at the corners of her lips, “I’m such a pathetic mess.” 

“If you keep telling yourself that not only are you going to believe it but so will everyone around you.” She knew that voice, it wasn’t exactly one that she wanted to hear at that moment. Akii glanced over her shoulder at the silver-haired turquoise eyed boy who was casually leaning against a tree trunk, watching her curiously. 

Riku was seeing her completely vulnerable and she didn’t like it one bit but there was nothing she could do about it now that he had already heard what she had said. 

“What would you know about something like that?” Akii tilted her head to the side, her eyes cautiously narrowing a fraction at him. 

He held up his hands in front of his chest in mock-surrender, pushing himself away from the tree and sauntering towards her, “What _wouldn’t_ I know?” 

She was momentarily taken aback by his sudden civility towards her, it was a nice change from the constant glares and annoyed eye rolls that she normally received from him, it almost made him seem a little more _human_. 

“What, you insecure about yourself too?” Akii laughed lightheartedly, not expecting the silently torn expression he answered with. 

Frowning, Akii looked up at him in astonishment, “You are, aren’t you? It has to do with your darkness too, doesn’t it?” 

Riku plopped down in the sand next to her, one knee raised to his chest with his arm casually lying across it while his other leg lay straight out in front of him, inches away from the pond water. His silence was all she needed to know that he too felt insecure and maybe even doubtful of himself. 

The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes, just staring out at the glassy surface of the pond, each in their own thoughts. It wasn’t uncomfortable like she would have originally thought; it was sort of nice to be in the company of someone who wasn’t always scheming up something dark and sinister for once. 

“Why’d you choose it?” 

Startled by the sudden interruption of the silence, Akii glanced over at him in confusion. 

Realizing he hadn’t specified what he’d meant, Riku added, “The darkness I mean, why’d you choose to follow this path?” 

Biting her lip she hesitated, uncertain of whether or not she wanted him to know about her past and whether she could trust him to not use it against her in some way. Akii hadn’t had a friend since Devi the zombie back in Halloween Town and since then hadn’t had anyone to talk to about her worries and troubles, the thought sounded nice to her. 

“I was a kid, just turned 8 years old, when Darius’ secondhand man found me living in Halloween Town with my adoptive father figure. I was young and naïve and it didn’t take much for him to convince me to come with him back to Sanctions Keep, after all, what 8 year old didn’t dream of being a Princess? I was stupid to think that things would be simple and easy, I was royalty after all, wasn’t I? Instead of being waited on hand and foot by chambermaids and servants Darius came to me and told me that if I ever wanted to be a great ruler I would have to know how to protect my kingdom and my people and the only way I could possibly do that would be to accept the darkness. He made it seem so logical, he knew exactly what to say to manipulate me— _still does._ ” She gave a pained sigh. 

He tilted his head, “You regret it?” 

“Sanctions Keep has never had a problem with Heartless or any other issue involving the darkness; it’s been well protected for centuries, from what I’ve read in the history books, and I want to make sure it stays that way. While I don’t particularly like being part of the darkness, something that is widely accepted as being an evil entity, I can’t help but to see the good that it does for my world. By having the darkness in me I can willingly control outside forces of darkness and keep them away from my people. If I had a heart of light then my kingdom would constantly be in danger of the Heartless threat, but because of me they’re safe.” Akii spoke confidently, but Riku could detect her true hidden feelings, he could see it in her eyes. 

“The eyes don’t lie; you don’t really want the weight of it all on your shoulders.” He quickly discerned, tilting his head to the side and frowning. 

The lavender eyed girl was silent for a moment, chewing on her tender lower lip, “It’s not like I _like_ having a heart tainted with darkness, it’s just…I feel like it’s my responsibility to do everything that I can to protect my world. My parents are dead, my Uncle is a sadist, there’s no one else who can do it; it has to be me.” 

She shook her head to clear away the thoughts, how had they even gotten on the subject of her and her inner feelings? It wasn’t exactly a subject she wanted to share with the world and now this boy knew. Wanting to avoid further disclosure of any information that she might regret speaking of later, she opted to bring the conversation away from herself. 

“Now that you know my story, what’s yours?” 

Riku hesitated, he had listened quietly to her story and while he felt a sting of jealousy towards her power he couldn’t help but to feel sympathy for her, while _he_ wanted the darkness _she_ didn’t. What he couldn’t understand was why someone with so much power like her would ever want to give all that up. It was ridiculous! 

The thought of his past was still a sore subject and he wasn’t at all too happy to talk about what had happened, but it was only fair, right? 

The silverette sighed, “I lived on the mainland connected to a string of islands known as Destiny Islands, life was monotonous, every day the same thing; get up, go to school, Blitzball practice, go home, do homework, sleep, repeat. It wasn’t what I wanted, I wanted adventure. Staring out at sea I came to the conclusion that we couldn’t be the only ones out there, and if it was true, and there were other worlds out there why’d I end up on Destiny Islands? I wanted to see the worlds and travel. 

My…” He paused, a dark loathing look entered his turquoise eyes, “…friends decided they wanted to come along as well, so we set to building a raft that could hopefully take us somewhere completely new.It soon became pretty apparent that I was the only one actually working on the raft, Sora was a lazy ass and Kairi wasn’t any better.” 

Akii noticed that his eyes softened ever so slightly at the mention of Kairi. 

He took a deep breath, watching her carefully, “The raft was almost finished but I was getting impatient about wanting to start the journey as soon as possible, so I opened the Door to Darkness. I was separated from my friends and Maleficent found me.” 

She tilted her head to the side curiously, “And that was that? You felt the impulse to join her and succumb to the darkness in your heart? Just like that?” 

He smiled bitterly, “I never gave up hope, I continued to look for Sora and Kairi but I soon realized that Sora wasn’t looking for us in return. He had found _new_ friends and didn’t care about us anymore. I’m still searching for Kairi, but I’ve completely given up on Sora, he’s not worth it anymore.” 

Riku grit his teeth angrily, clenching his fists and striking the sand beside him, leaving an indent in the pond shore from the pressure. Her lavender eyes widened and she felt her lips twitch in to a frown, she now understood why he had been so adverse to the keyblade wielder’s presence in Wonderland. The boy had betrayed Riku. 

Akii wasn’t exactly a social person and didn’t know the proper way to comfort someone when they were angry or upset, so she wisely chose to stay silent. If she had moved to comfort him in some way there was no doubt in her mind that he would have struck her out of blind fury from the rampant thoughts of his ex-friend. However, it’s not like she couldn’t defend herself against him, she had proven that a week prior to this moment, she was too tired to fight. After tonight she felt like her and Riku had made some sort of impact on each other, their relationship was different now, not at all tense like it had been before. Granted, she knew they weren’t exactly _friends_ , but they had an understanding of each other now. 

“We should get back soon, it’s almost dawn.” Riku spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen between the two. 

She glanced over at him and noticed that he had been staring at her, his turquoise eyes watching her intently, this simple action made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. Akii nodded mutely, pushing herself off of the sandy bank and dusting off the excess debris from her bottom. Riku did the same before offering her a rare smile, it wasn’t a mesmerizing teeth-showing grin that could make any girl swoon (though she did admit that Riku was attractive enough and that he probably had girls falling all over him back on his home world), more rather a small twitch of the lips, but it was all she needed to see to know that he didn’t resent her quite as much as he had given off in their previous meetings. 

That was all she needed, it was nice to have someone to talk to, someone that she could perhaps even call an ally when the time came.

**Author's Note:**

> I also have this story up on ff.net under the screen name RynxEnvy


End file.
